Terrazzo floor strip



March 1, 3%325 p, jssi I I 1,847,955

TERRAZZO FLOOR STRIP Filed July 8, 1929 INVENTOR ATTlEY mswmemssr; inema? is Y, 51

' Application m arnyla, '192e. seri f-n 316309;,

This invention relates to improvements in theconstructlon of terrazzo and simllar floors and more partloularlyrefers to a new-type of dividing strip adapted for use in connection With such floors. I granohthic, stucco and 81111112111 l Terrazzo, floors usually comprlse a lower or foundat on 7 bed made of concrete orcement or mortar. or othersu1table materlal, and an. upper 'or:fin

i shinglayergenerally consisting of a mixture J yy e r i n d e portions":

The primary object of thisinven'tion is to of marbleohips and. cement, by means. of which a good durable surface maybe-lob tained as well= as pleasing designs and :color effectsofa-practically unlimited variety. 4:

The upperlayer which is generally placed in position after the foundation layer has been allowed. to harden to 'al sulficient degree of consistency, is generally divided into a c 7, number of panels or units'linapredetermined '20 arrangement,- which are obtained'byi'outlining the desired: design byqmeans' of dividing strips; placed. on :or through theifoundation layer. I

T These-bars are generallyt made of' rel'atively softmeta'lsuch as brass for instance, thewea'r;

i-ng qualitie's ofjlwhich are approximately equal-to those ofthe 'floor itself and according to the nature of the fio'orand -.of-.the.de-':

signto'be produced the dividing strips-may be of various thicknesses 'and'qlength'sl i ,ii Relatively thin-strips amay: readily be obtained out of sheet metal, andare suitable for floors of moderate si zief; however, relag tively large floors, or floors composed of relathe-floor is laid.

tively large units, call for strips having sufii cient-rigidity to withstandthe lateral pressure ofthe'mat'erial without bulgingwhen These heavier' stripsare also rge nerally' made out; ofsheet metal but brass being ex pensive material, their use nate'riallyiinextra thick metallic strips showing through" 7 the material, and in these cases, the cost' is still higher.

creases :the cost of the floor; At times the ornamental features are such as to require ..It is therefore "important" fie decrease the costof thematerial employed asm'uch as possible, this result being 'a'chievedby using brass only at the top of the strip-and using .strip' of-the 'charact'er specified, a joining is used,

I Fig. lis a fragmentary a somewhat-different form; 5 c v Fig.5 is a fragmentary view in perspective a-less expensive material for the there of. The resultingsaving in the costof materialf' is "generally: sufiicient to compensate provide a dividing-- strip of a similar Charr a'cter in which however, thejoint portions of the strip extend laterally of-saidstrip at one s de thereof, "so that all conditions being the same the rigidity and strength of the result mg strip willbegr'e'ater.- 1

Another obj ct i's'to provide in dividing structure formedby twolaterally'projecting portions of the two-sections of which the strlp is composed, said portionsbeing inserta ble in a transversal direction one within theother'ibe'fore-the closing of the joint." i 5 i Other objects-andadvantages"of thepres-' ent "invention 5 will more fully appear as the description proceedsand will be set forth and claimed 'inthe appended claims. f i i 1 Yarimisembodiment's ofimy invention are; illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which; L- W a fragmentary View in' perspective of a 'striphaving a' relatively thin upper sec- QII; a. I Fig. 211st fragmentary View in perspective of anotherstrip'wliere a heavy upper section FigL 'S isa fragmentary viewii'n'perspective 'of a similar strip illustrating a joint having a difierentoutline; 1

p view in perspective of .anothenstripembodying my invention" in of another-strip isomewhatsimilarto. that c illustratedin- Fig. 4'; 1".

Fig. 6 is a fragmentaryvi'ew fperspective' v ofastrip similar to the one fshownin F ig.f1

in which a different type of lower section is employed; and

Fig. 7 is a vertical cross section showing the strip illustrated in Fig. 6. in position, at the same time illustrating the positioning and anchoring function of the joining portions ofl'set therefrom.

The; strip illustrated in.' :Fig. .1 comprises an upper section 10 consisting of a web body 11 and a solid semi-dovetailed male tenon 12 integral therewith pro ecting laterally there from at the lower edge thereof.

The inner edge surface of said tion is parallel to its uninterrupte.d.upper edge 13 and rests against the horizontal upper surfaceof 'a flange '14:bent laterally: of the upper edge 15 ofjthe lowerrsection 16'. l I The, outer portion ofsaid flange is bent upwardly and inwardly as shown at 17-, forming a mortise, so as. to} embrace and interlock with tenon 12, therebycausing the two :sections to. form, a single relativelyrigid structure. 1 I 1 The upper sectionas stated, is madeof Ina-- terial such as brass which maybe well suited both from a practical and adecorative-standpoint, for the use for which the strip is intended; while the lower section is preferably made of steel on account of its lower ,cost

1 and greater strength.

Parts 12, ,17 thus form a rib longitudinally extending laterally of the strip, materially increasing its rigidity andstrength; furthermore', .the lower surface of flange 1.4;. may act as positioningimeansforthe, strip, defining the line efdemarcation,b'etween the lower and upper layers of the floor, while the rib asa wholemay actas anchoring means for the structure.

One of the advantagesof the arrangement described, is that, the assembling of the two sections is a comparatively simple operation requiring thfe use of relatively: inexpensive tools. The upper section is preferably producedby drawing-enrolling. processes and its tenon. is inserted in position against the inner surface of flange 14, when said-flange isbentoutwardly and upwardly;.t he lips or edge of the flange is then bent inwardly to complete thejoint. a e V It. is. also possible. however, and at times it may be preferable, to complete the bending ofthe flange before assembling, andthen to insert tenon 12 through the slot formed bythe' flange,'endwise." This system permits of" obtaining a tighter" fit.

In Fig. 2 I illustratea strip inwhich the upper section '18 is composed of a relatively thick top portion'l9 and a relati'vely thin rib portion 20 depending therefronn'saidrib being formed with a'longitudinallyextendlaterally projecting solidft enon'21 having a dovetailed section. The lower section 22 is accordingly formed with a flange 23bent t oxform a longitudinal: dovetailed chamber upper sec or mortise adapted to register with tenon 21, as shown.

In Fig. 3 I illustrate a similar strip in which however, the upper section 24: is formed with a solid tenon 25 having a curved instead of a dovetailed outline, the lower section 26 being accordingly formed with a mortise channel or bead 27 having a correspond.

ing outline. This type of outline may be preferable at times, especially when the material--usedfor the upper section is relatively hard because the curved outline is easier either'to roll or to draw.

illustrated in Fig. 2, while the upper section is formed with a web body 31 having its lower edge bent to form a laterally project ing male tenon 32 adapted to. register and interlock with channeled flange 29 as shown, thus duplicating the conditions existing in the strip of Fig.2, except that. only arelative ly thin upper edge of the upper. section will show throughthe floor.

- In a similar manner in Fig. 5, I illustrate Y a strip duplicating conditions such as'exist inthe case of-Fig. 1. Said strip is composed of a lower section 33 formed with a semidovetailedflange 34 while the upper section 35has its lower edge bent to form a semidovetailedmale tenon 36 adaptedto register and interlock with saidflange, therib' structure formed by said flange and tenon having a, horizontal lower. surface 37 which may act as positioningmeans for thestrip. 1 i Some material may besaved- 1n producing the: lower section if its body portion is notched at spaced intervals as shown at 38 in Fig.- 6 so as to form a series of spaced lugs 39 depending from the solid mortise or chain neled portion 40. This manner of construction permits of obtaining two lower sections out of a strip of metal, the width of which is less than the combined total 1widthfof the twosections, the lugs of one section projecting withinthe notches of the other. This method of production has been describedv and claimed by me in another application-filed simultaneously herewith, entitled Floor strips. .1 Y i A strip of the type shown in Fig.6 is shown iniposition in Fig. 7 where .41 is. the lower layer orbed of the floor resting on the floor foundation 42, and 43 is the upper layer. The mortise on. the lower section and the tenon of the upper section constitute a rigid connection between the upper and lower sections of the strip; v

A 7 It will be observed that the lower surface 4A of the longitudinal-rib formed by the male and female members of the jointrests upon the upper surface of the lower layer, thus determining thedepth of said layer,v

while the rib itself 45 is embedded in the ma-' 10 terial composing the upper layer of the floor thus acting as anchoring means for the strip,

, Other strips embodying my invention may be made in forms different fromthoseishown 'without departing from the inventive idea;

the drawings will therefore be understood as being intended for illustrative purposes only and not in a limiting sense. Accordingly, I reserve the right to vcarry myinvention into practice in all those ways and man-' ners which may enter, fairly, into the scope of the appended claims. r

I claim: r

1. A terrazzo or similar floor strip comv prising an upper section having at its inner edge portion on one side only asolid longitudinally extending tenon, and a lowersection having at its inner edge portion alongi tudinally extending mortise which receives said tenon and forms therewith a rigid connection between said upper and lower sections.

2. A terrazzo or similar floor strip'comprising an upper section having at its'inner edge portion on one side only a solid longitudinally extending uninterrupted tenon, and v a lower section having at its inner edge portion a longitudinally extending uninterrupt-- ed ,mortise which receives said tenon and forms therewith a rigid connection between V 40 said upper and lower sections.- p Y Y 3. A terrazzo orsimilar floor strip come prising a relatively thick upper'section having at its inner edge portion a longitudinally extending solid tenon projecting'at one side only of the said section, and a relatively thin lower section having at its inner edge portion f a longitudinal mortise which receives said :tenon and forms therewith a rigid-connection between said upper and lower sections.

4. A terrazzo or similar floor strip com- 7 prising upper and lower longitudinal sec tions, the upper section having its inner edge formed with a longitudinally extending solid tenon projecting at one side only thereof, and

i the lower section having its inner edgeformed with a longitudinal mortise projecting therefrom at the corresponding side, said 'mortise being adapted to register and tomterlock with said tenon, forming a male and 69 female joint therewith, said lower section comprising an uninterrupted inner edge portion, and a plurality of spaced lugs depending therefrom. n PASQUALE GALASSI. I 

